deadmau5 calls out Kanye West for pirated software

Kanye West is the latest artist to be caught using pirated software. The rap celeb recently posted a photo to Twitter showing an open tab of the Pirate Bay, with a torrent search for XFER Records’ popular soft synth, Serum. Deadmau5, a cofounder of XFER Records and close friend of its creator Steve Duda, was quick to call out West for the infringement.

Kanye, not to have his ego derailed, was quick to fire back: “@Deadmau5… is this person’s name pronounced dead-mow-five?” Zimmerman clearly struck a nerve with the rap superstar, who continued to rattle off snarky remarks about Zimmernan’s iconic mousehead.

While the ongoing Twitter feud comes as no surprise given both artists’ candid track record, it does draw attention to an important issue: software piracy. After Carnage’s Sylenth1 debacle last year, it ultimately begs the question: why are successful artists continuing to pirate music production software they could easily afford, and how can we better make sure creators are getting compensated?